The Chain Reaper
by Al Azif
Summary: A life for a life and in turn a life for the balance of life itself. When given a chance, Death seizes the opportunity to raise someone who can influence the scale of power in his realm as he cannot do so directly. As the years pass a new reaper is about to make his appearance, as monstrous as his father he is the judge, jury, executioner and jailer. So... "Any last words?"
1. Enter the Warden

**Well here we are, proof that I have not died but spent the last few years training in a mountain far away...Oh wait that's another story for another time. For more info read the AN that comes after the story but please read the story first as the AN at the bottom may contain slight spoilers. Without further ado, let the show begin!**

"We had a deal!"

"And I did as you asked young Hokage"

The scene was chaotic in itself, while in the background where Konoha lay fires burning with its shinobi trying to douse the raging infernos, the scene in the forest was now matching the devastation as the spirit of death, its white haired, purple skinned and masked face, hung lazily in the air with a child wrapped in cloth in its arms. Before it lay a man, bloodied but otherwise okay, with blonde hair and a white coat etched with flame designs who was struggling now to raise himself to continue glaring at the being holding his one and only son.

"Then why!? Give him back and take my soul in place as we have agreed!" Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage of Konoha yelled

"Because he now interests me" drawled Death

"What!?"

"Consider this a life for another life" Death continued "and soon his life for the balance of life itself..."

"You're not making any sense!" The man cried out as he tried dragging himself closer to the being, desperately reaching out to his child

"Of course what I see doesn't make sense..." the being replied as he turned away and began to fade along with the child "...at least to a mortal man I don't"

"No! Goddamn it, come back!" Minato yelled futilely as the spirit of Death disappeared into the burning night sky

"NARUTO!" He cried out in anguish before finally falling unconscious, the strain of the events taking its toll on him

"We've found him!" a cry rang out through the clearing "He's over here!"

"Quick call for a medic!"

"Don't worry we've managed to stabilize him"

"Is he okay? What happened to my child!?"

"How did he survive sensei? The Shiki fuin should have taken his soul!?

The next few days blurred for the man as he drifted in and out of consciousness, all he could see were distorted figures and snippets of conversations going on around him. Some he could recognize, some he couldn't but all that really mattered to his lucid mind was;

Where was his son?

* * *

(11 Years Later)

"Mr. Warden are you awake?"

"Mrrhannmph..."

"Mr. Warden please get up already!"

"Hrmmnphfff..."

"MR. WARDEN!"

A yell of surprise and a dull thud echoed out in the forest clearing as a tangled mess of metal and clothes fell out of one of the many tall trees. A second later a green ball of light floated down and landed softly beside the heap before reforming into a small, wispy, and still green female child. The girl had short shoulder length hair and wore only a tattered, nearly falling apart, sundress which was plain in comparison to her now awake companion who was now bringing himself up to his full height, the dark blue ensemble of jacket, pants and trench coat unable to hide the now noticeable dull green glow of light from within. A sole wicked looking lantern was attached by lock to a chain coming out of the left skull attached to his waist, clinking and clanking along with the two keys he kept tied to his front as he stood before turning around to face her. Greeting the girl was a flaming green skull with three smaller chains forming what could be called hair on the grim visage of the now fully awake Chain Warden.

The being stared at the ghostly girl who had woke him up for a few moments before he sighed and pulled the lantern off himself which was also connected to another chain coming out this time from the right skull on his waist which led to his back and a hung sickle dangling on the other end of the chain. The young girl looked at him expectantly as he tapped the lantern to her head and soon she felt a familiar tugging sensation on her being as she was sucked into the bluish green depths of the lantern.

"Thanks for the wakeup call" The warden spoke, his hollow raspy voice clear with annoyance.

"But, next time try another approach other than yelling in my ear" he continued as he hooked the lantern back onto the his being by the side of his belt.

"I make no promises if that's how deep you can sleep Mr. Warden" replied a child like voice from the lantern.

"I'll keep that in mind" he answered as he turned to face the rays of light peeking out behind him, the sun now rising in the horizon.

Checking his surroundings to get his bearings right, he mused around for a bit before finding his bearings and walking forth southbound.

"Oy Thresh," another voice grumbled out, this one deeper than his own "Where are we off to now?"

Tilting his flaming head slightly, Thresh noticed his lantern had now taken a red glow to it and nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to face the path ahead.

"Towards the smell of death" Thresh spoke "to where I can just hear the musical tones of my father at work" he continued, a slight smile tugging at his jaws.

The lantern remained silent after his reply before flickering back to its original colour.

Eventually the trees began thinning out bit by bit until he saw an open road ahead of him coated with a slight mist. Taking the path he pulled up a hood from his coat to cover his face in case other people would pass through the road. In hindsight he thought passing through the road was a bad idea but then again the quicker he got to where he needed to be, the faster he could get his job done. Making sure the coast was clear he began running down the path as fast as he could.

Minutes went forth and bled into the hours as he pursued the path down south. To his pleasant surprise he didn't encounter anyone else in his journey, an ominous sign to a normal person but a rather different one to him.

Eventually the sky turned gray and dark, the winds picking up slowly around him as he continued forward.

"Mr. Warden?" another childish voice, this time a young boy's, called out from the lantern

"Hmmm?"

"I feel a lot of energy coming from somewhere"

"Somewhere?" asked Thresh, stopping in his tracks as he stared out at the end of the path which led straight to a beachfront and to the islands far beyond.

"Yep, yep! I can feel lots of that spiritual power thing you told us about" the lantern happily replied, jingling in place to show it. "But it's coming from that place far ahead"

"I see..." Thresh mused "you did good work kids" he continued patting the lantern and eliciting a happy cry from it before it stilled once more. Putting the info aside for the moment he focused for a bit before confirming the diluted presence of spiritual energy and the rather growing scent of death and decay being carried through the air.

'So this is where my father leads me this time?' Thresh thought as he slowly began walking forward, his boots crunching against the sand. Searching for a means to get to the island he spotted a small dock down the beach. Making his way there he noticed the lack of people and sound as he got closer. Sure it was just a fishing dock but surely a few people would be there.

'Unless...' he thought as he finally arrived and peered through the broken window of one of the two shacks by the single dock. The insides were unused, covered in a thick layer of dust, confirming his idea.

"Abandoned," he thought out loud "at least the small boat is mostly intact" he observed as he walked up the pier to the single lone boat tied to one of the poles holding the place up. Sure the barnacles would hamper speed but beggars can't be choosers. Noticing the lack of a paddle he went back and checked on the 2nd shack and pulled a few out since the wood decay might cause them to break along the way. Pausing at that train of thought, he also wondered if the boat would hold him through the short trip. Though seeing as the only other option would be to swim he had to put his faith in the rather rickety thing.

Finishing his preparations he boarded the boat and pushed off, sailing forth into the proverbial storm ahead of him. His excitement growing steadily as he pondered the powers felt from the island ahead. The storm clouds flashing with lightning as if beckoning him. As he rowed forward a smile found itself forming slowly on his face.

"The storm is starting to get worse" the deeper voice mused out loud amidst the sounds of waves sloshing around the boat.

"Oh yes!" Thresh answered as the stench of death drew closer, a grin now on his face

"It's about to get much worse"

* * *

In the heart of the land of waves the people starved and suffered under the rule of their tyrant leader, Gato. What was once a town thriving with rich and bountiful catches of fish, cloths and silks to trade was now reduced to an all around slum. Excessive taxes, theft and extortion had left nothing but tears and anguished cries. What meagre food the people had could not support a family so many took to the streets as beggars or searched for some form of low paying work under the tyrant and his men. Starvation and disease ran rampant through the worse parts of the town and the people feared that soon death reports would be coming in if a solution to their problems was not found.

Through a secret pooling of the funds they had left they had come up with a plan to get the help of the ninjas of Konoha, albeit discreetly. With hope starting up again with the construction of the bridge to the mainland they would ask for a protection detail against the bandits and rogues that Gato employed as a private army of sorts. Rumours had sprung up amongst the gossip grape vine (what was left of it at least) that the man had hired ninjas as well but hopefully they believed the rumour to not hold for long.

How wrong they were.

Through the funds they pooled they had managed to get the bridge builder himself, Tazuna, to make a trip to Konoha and hire a ninja squad under the pretence of a C-ranked protection detail. Tazuna, though a bit unsure as 3 of the 4 man squad were just kids a bit older than his grandson, was happy enough and thought that it would now be smooth sailing to the freedom of their county.

Another pitiable mistake.

The squad in itself was actually quite strong and capable enough, comprised out of the legendary Copycat ninja, Hatake Kakashi, the daughter of the current Hokage, Namikaze Natsumi, Rookie of the Year, Sasuke Uchiha, and the budding medic of the graduating class, Haruno Sakura, they were a force to be reckoned with. After their numerous D-rank assignments Natsumi had protested to her father to up the difficulty, luckily they had come in at just the right time as a C-rank request just came in moments before. Reviewing their records and training progress from his ex-student Kakashi, he saw no reason to give them a little taste of the outside world. Though put off when they realized their client was a drunk, they were still quite thankful for the change of pace and set off immediately.

Now with all the assumptions of good fortune piling up one after the other, the universe saw fit to throw a wrench into all that.

Soon after leaving Konoha they were ambushed by a pair of Kiri missing-nins known as the demon brothers which they defeated soundly. With the mission now beyond parameters Kakashi sought to go back but gave in when Natsumi protested after hearing Tazuna's story. Deciding he could protect the team if worse comes to worst they moved on. After a bit of travel when they arrived in Wave Country they faced another opponent and soon the fight turned into a struggle for survival as Kakashi wound up getting captured in a fight against the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi, and leaving his 3 genins to fight on their own.

As luck would have it, a chain of events followed through and with a little ingenuity from Sasuke and Natsumi, a kage bunshin disguised as a windmill shuriken hidden under the shadow of a real windmill shuriken was enough to break their sensei out of his watery prison and allowing them to push Zabuza into a corner. But just as the final blow was about to come, Zabuza was assassinated and taken away by one of the Kiri hunter nins that had been tracking him down. Now safe for the time being the adrenaline of the fight began to disappear and the team began to feel more tired than ever. Kakashi soon collapsed due to the strain of using his own Sharingan eye too much and had to be carried during the last legs of the trip to Tazunas humble house.

Tired and quite hungry this is where the team finds themselves. In a situation far out of their league but well within their determination.

"Will Kakashi-sensei be okay Sakura" asked Natsumi worriedly, a young girl with blue eyes like her father but red hair like her mother's tied into two pony tails. She wore a stylized pinkish battle kimono with floral designs and the top opened to show her slight cleavage*. Stuffed in between the folds of her kimono and obi were two small white battle fans and dark blue shinobi sandals covered here feet and lastly tied around her forehead lay the blue cloth and marked steel piece that identified her as a Konoha shinobi.

"He'll be fine with some rest, it was just chakra exhaustion from using the Sharingan for a prolonged period" Sakura answered as she came out of the room set aside for their sensei and Sasuke. Her green eyes showing weariness as she brushed her pink locks off her sweating forehead. She wore a red cheongsam with a shortened skirt that ended just above her knees with bicycle shorts seen underneath the skirts two slits on the side. Over her outfit she wore a white medic's coat with in lined holsters for vials and other equipment**. Closing the door behind her she regarded her two teammates before her before reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out her own hitae-ate and fixing her messy hair. "I've done what I could to ease some of the lesser injuries like bruises and such but I don't have the skill yet to heal him up completely"

"So he'll be fine in a few days right?" Sasuke asked impassively his black eyes hiding his concern. He wore a high collared blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back and white shorts and combat boots for the lower ensemble***. Being part of the surviving Uchiha faction alongside his older brother and mother, he had known Kakashi a bit since he was little due to him popping in a few times to help out after the failed coup of the extremist faction of his family.

"Yeah as long as he doesn't strain himself too much" Sakura replied before looking out and noticing the dark clouds and flashes of lightning in the distance. "Looks like a storm is coming" she observed "We should help out where we can around the house before the storm hits"

"Looks like it'll be bad tonight" Natsumi added while nodding in agreement to Sakura "Well luckily with Zabuza out of the picture, this should be the last major thing aside from Gato we should worry about"

"Don't say it like that" Sasuke chided her as they walked down the stairs to find Tsunami, the bridge builder's daughter. "That's just begging for something else to happen"

"But what's the worst that could happen?"

"I just said don't jinx us!" and all he got in response was a laugh as he and the others found Tsunami and got to work though the seed of worry had now been planted.

And the streak of lightning that just flashed outside did nothing to lower Sasuke's ever growing unease.

* * *

On another part of the island around the same time a nondescript pair of thugs were inspecting the forest area by the shoreline just as the lightning flashed above them causing one to jump in surprise.

"Oy are you sure you saw a boat this way man?" the first asked his companion

"I'm sure I saw one coming in" replied the other "Bet you it's one of those townsfolk trying to smuggle in goods for themselves" he continued as he continued to search the beach front.

"Look can't we just let this one pass? This storm is starting to pick up and I don't want to chance getting hit by lightning"

"Ha, you'd have to mighty unlucky for that to even happen. Now shut up and look around, if we find that boat we can get back like you want"

Following his companions it took a few minutes before something caught the first's eye.

"Hey is that it up ahead?" he called out to the second who was lagging a bit behind him peering into the forest to check for anyone "Hey! I think I found your mystery boat!"

"Hah! Told ya there was someone smuggling stuff" the second man called out as he ran up to the boat with him, both pulling out their swords strapped to their sides. "Now let's find the fucker who thinks he can... get... away?"

The two finally make it to the boat only to find a slightly water filled interior with wood that looked like it was barely holding together. A few broken pieces of long shafts were tossed around inside as well, for what they didn't know. All in all the boat they had stumbled across was nothing but trash and barnacles, something that looked like it should be on the sea floor rather than sailing the seas.

"Hey man are you sure you saw a boat actually sailing this way?" the first asked sceptically, now rather annoyed that this might have all just been a wild goose chase

"I'm sure!" the other replied "I swore I saw a boat this size with a guy rowing the darn thing! I even saw a green light from his lantern or whatever he was using!"

"Man, I'm heading back to the base before this storm starts pouring on us" the first said as he began to walk away.

"Hey come on! You gotta believe me here, there's a smuggler going right under our noses!"

"Yeah he's under our noses!" the first called out as he continued walking "and far under the ocean floor if he tried riding that thing!" was the last thing the second heard before his partner disappeared into the forest back on his way to the base.

The second man was trying to make sense of the situation and eventually was about to give up and head back as well a few minutes later when something caught his sight at the edge of his vision. Turning around immediately brandishing his sword he yelled out "I saw that! Where are you!"

Suddenly he noticed the glow from behind the trees as the figure run deeper into the forest. Seeing whoever it was that might be responsible run away from the scene he quickened his pace and ran after the figure. A few minutes into the chase and he believed he was getting closer to the person as he followed the sounds of footsteps ahead of him.

"Save yourself the trouble!" He called out "I'll catch you one way of the other!"

He then came to a stop as he realized the footsteps had stopped. Believing whoever it was had given up, he tightened the grip on his sword as he moved forward amongst the trees. A grin formed on his face as he thought about the praise he'd get for busting this little smuggling operation.

"That's right!" He spoke "Turn yourself in and maybe Gato won't hurt you too badly" looking around he tried to think where the person was now hiding before a light in a nearby bush caught his attention. Creeping up to it he readied his blade before grabbing a portion of the greenery and ripping it away yelling "aha!". His smile died when it revealed it was nothing more than a lantern with a strange glow.

"Damnit they must've gotten away by now" He grumbled kicking the lantern away before turning around to head back.

A chilling feeling suddenly gripped him as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice down his shirt. Looking around he realized that he had run deep into the forest area and each way he looked were nothing but trees, trees and more trees.

"Oh man" he moaned out "Where the hell am I?"

He began mumbling out incoherencies as he tried to pinpoint where exactly he had come from when he noticed that the lantern he had kicked nearby had disappeared. A sense of unease washed over him as he frantically looked around, the dark storm clouds now looming over head.

Suddenly something moved around the edge of his vision and like last time he spun around trying to get sight of whoever or whatever was around him. His hitherto aggressiveness from being the hunter now dying away only to be slowly replaced by the fear of being the hunted. His sword shaking in his hand, he swung around left and right, the sounds of the forest starting to get to him.

Then as if someone had turned the dial of the radio down, all the sounds around him just seemed to die away. The fear now gripped at his very being as he recalled the stories of terrifying demons he heard back at the base. Of monsters and other things that go bump in the night and suddenly his thoughts were filled with new grim possibilities. It was with these thoughts that a new sound hit his ears.

_clink, clang_

A new noise that sent more chills up his spine.

_clink, clang_

He dared not look behind him, his terror building up ever more as the sounds came closer.

_clink, clang_

They were close for him to identify now, the sounds that chains made when hitting each other.

_clink _

Closer and closer.

_clang_

Against his better judgement, his fear and irrationality taking over he spun around, swinging his sword at the sound, a scream almost coming out of his mouth, only to meet air. Behind him lay empty space and suddenly as if the volume had been raised again the dim sounds of the forest and the gray clouds rumbling above him returned. Releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding, he let loose a weak laugh.

"Heheh" he wheezed out "must be just my imagination, I should seriously stop listening to those bastards"

And with a smile he turned around again.

And this time he screamed for real.

* * *

_On the next chapter:_

_ "Have you heard the stories coming out? Of a reaper in the forests?"_

_ "The children! They sing! The last song you will ever hear!"_

_ "Only a monster could work like this" _

_ "Me, mad? Haha! Quite likely..."_

* * *

**AN: I hope you liked the beginning. It's been a long time since I've written again and honestly I've got no excuse for not updating other than depression and I won't go further than that. I've got a plan and a layout along with a rough outline of this story written out (I've learned my lesson from my past failures that you should not start a story and write it as it comes) and I also got a quota for each chapter which I will try to meet to make sure my story doesn't go on too long per chapter or is too short. **

** You'll also have noticed some discrepancies in the history of the series, with Minato living to fight another day. You will see more and explanations will come to light as the story progresses. This chapter is meant more to set the scene and introduce the characters and their personalities. **

** For those who will question Thresh's personality, just remember the soul used was NOT that of a sadistic jailer as the lore goes but someone else. (You'd be stupid not to realize who became Thresh).**

** Also don't expect me to answer **_**all**_** of your questions in ANs so consider this a one time thing, it's a good sign if a writer can keep his reader guessing, at least so I'm told. **

** So stay tuned for the next chapter which I will release hopefully this upcoming Friday or Saturday depending on whether or not the internet connection at Hamilo resorts doesn't crap out on me. **

*The outfit has a basis on Yumi's alternate outfit in Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus

** A variation of Haruka's coat from the above mentioned series

***Sasuke already had a good design going for him early on, no sense changing it.


	2. Chapter 1 part 1 - The Sky has Fallen

**As promised here's chapter 2!**

* * *

_I knew a man who once said, "death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back." ~Gladiator, written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson, 2000_

* * *

One sometimes wonders why rainfall must be so dark and dreary. For a time when the heavens drop their life giving liquid, the occasion sure doesn't convey the feeling it should. Some praise the rain for giving their crops life, for quenching their thirst, and on some strange occasions, for putting out fires. Others on the other hand curse the rain as they seem to believe it comes just at the time to mourn the fallen, to show them that "the heaven's weep for them as well". Yet more often than not, in this day and age, rainfall signals the latter. Take Ame for instance, perpetual rainfall in a land just teeming with death. It is where the people who fight for their freedom feel that only when they get what they desire will the rain end.

My observations today I guess stem from the fact that I am holed up here in a tree trunk passing the night and the heavy rainfall outside. Honestly, I am surprised this tree is as roomy as it is, more so that I found it in time before all that water decided to dump itself all over the region. Storms like these I hear are quite common this far south.

At least now I feel like I have calmed my mind down from the earlier hunt. My sanity once more flying out the window at the prospect of a fresh soul to add to my growing collection. The sin and death just radiated off that man like the smell of week old cheese, so surely no one would miss him and the imbalance he has been causing my father.

On the topic of souls It is my sincere wish that I do come upon a worthy soul to add, all these small fry souls just not doing much to sate my own taste.

Actually now that I think about it that last soul did kind of taste like rotten cheese.

Journal entry 276 end

Silently snapping shut the worn out blue booklet, he tucked it and the pen he brought along with him inside the folds of his jacket as he leaned back on the hard wood of the hollow tree he had found. Outside the rain continued pouring as relentlessly as it had been for a few hours already. By now the darkness of night had settled in and while it would have been a good night to begin his observations of the small community nearby, the rainfall had pretty much washed away the idea.

With nothing else to do but wait out the night, the demonic entity wriggled a bit in the space before settling down into a comfortable position to rest. Turning his head slightly towards his lantern he noticed the lamp glowing a bit brightly as if ready to reply to the question he was about to ask.

"Wake me up when the sun rises again"

"We'll try our best Mr. Warden in case you sleep in again" came the reply of the children's voices

"Which luckily won't cause me to fall out of a tree this time around" Thresh grumbled before closing his eyes to the giggles of his very own lantern.

_"But I'll bet they'll find a new way to wake me up in pain anyways"_

* * *

After all that storm and rain the next day yielded no better weather. While the rain had now stopped it's treacherous downpour, the skies were greyed out by the clouds and a fine mist now hung in the air. Another dreary start to a what might be a dreary day.

Groaning and feeling the ache of his muscles, Hatake Kakashi the famous copy ninja awoke and immediately took note of his surroundings. Wood floor, comfy futon, a even comfier pillow and the fact he couldn't seem to feel his legs? He realized that after the fight with Zabuza yesterday he must've passed out and his team made the last legs of the trip to Tazuna's house. Tentatively he tried to sit up but wound up hissing as a wave of pain in his muscles hit him.

'I must've burned out more chakra than I normal' he thought, irritated at himself and flopping back down onto the futon just as the door to his room opened and in walked Sasuke carrying a tray of food and a glass of water.

"Usually it would be the nurse who brings the food you know?" Kakashi stated bluntly as Sasuke sat down beside him and handed him the food tray but not before taking an piece of bread for himself. Noticing the slight tenseness in his posture despite sitting down Kakashi placed the food aside for the time being.

"Sakura's helping with the dishes downstairs, heard a thump and assumed you tried straining yourself which meant you just woke up" Sasuke fired back before biting down on his bread. A chuckle escaped Kakashi as he thought about the team medic before he quieted down.

"Something bothering you?" Kakashi then asked staring at the ceiling. A minute passed by in silence as the boy seemed to contemplate something.

"Do you believe in premonitions?" Sasuke finally asked, a bit of worry laced in his voice

"You mean like fortune telling?"

"No! Not like that, I mean real premonitions" Sasuke answered quickly standing up after finishing off his bread to lean on the windows, staring out towards the dark clouds over the city.

"Look Sasuke, not that I don't believe you, but the only experience I've had with premonitions is when I found that week old expired Milk Cartoon in the Hokage's house" Kakashi replied with a dry tone as he managed to right himself up despite the stinging sensation and replace the tray on his lap.

"But haven't you heard the stories?"

"Hmmm?" Kakashi mumbled out, as his mouth was currently full of food. He did trust his student not to turn around anyways.

"I've heard things from Itachi" Sasuke admitted "ANBU has apparently been on the case of a few mysterious deaths of some high ranked missing-nins"

Kakashi frowned a bit at the information. While being a retired ANBU captain did have its perks, he was no longer privy that much up to date information. As if sensing the coming question Sasuke answered quickly "Itachi himself warned me about this. He was a bit worried with my safety considering we were going in the direction of the last investigated ninja"

"So what did you hear?"

"Alright so as I said a few missing-nins suddenly dropped off the radar" Sasuke began "At first this was just routine until a pattern started forming. The spy network then caught wind of some new player on the field and soon the two incidents started linking up. According to Itachi the last event just happened a few weeks back somewhere up north of Wave"

"What event?" Kakashi asked now genuinely curious as to what had his student spooked

"A storm" Sasuke answered simply "Itachi says news of dead missing-nins would come up after weird storms. What was even weirder was the state they were found by different hunter divisions, all dried up like husks and their bodies contorted as if they had been running from something terrifying. The weapon marks were even the same, chain and slash marks, but the cause of deaths were all listed as unknown. There was a bigger incident a year or so back but Itachi couldn't say what. All he could tell me was to stay on alert during the upcoming mission in case something like this would happen"

"Definitely fits the criteria then, I can see why you'd be worried" Kakashi mused, his mind taking in the info "A known, high-ranked missing-nin is in the area, just in time for a storm that came suddenly with almost no warning at all" Kakashi the fixed the tray of finished food and laid it out beside him just as Sasuke questioning stare turned around to see his sensei's masked face looking at him

"Anyone else in the team know?"

"No one else, just you now. Itachi told me to only divulge this info if we got into this kind of situation"

"Well it could just well be coincidence" Kakashi stated

"I'd hope so but as I said, I got this bad feeling about all of this. And what's this about a high ranked missing-nin in the area? I thought Zabuza was the only one?"

Just as they were about to continue, the muffled sounds of footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs and the two turned to the door just as Sakura opened it, effectively ending the conversation.

"Oh good you're done" Sakura said as she eyed the empty tray of food before she sat down beside her sensei and started some basic diagnostics "Feeling any better?"

"Just some minor fatigue" Kakashi answered "I should be fully up and running in a few days time"

"You're right," Sakura concluded as she finished and took note of her findings, pulling out and writing on a notepad she got from her coat "Your chakra levels are normal but there's still some muscle strain from the physical portion of use. Just take it easy and don't strain yourself"

"Oh how nice it is to see my cute little genins all worried about their dear sensei" Kakashi joked, his lone eye showing his amusement.

"Oh shut up!" Sakura huffed "I do this to all my patients in the hospital, you're no different"

"Oh you wound me with your harsh words" Kakashi said, reeling back in a over dramatic fashion before falling back into the futon muttering small cries of pain.

"Oh see what you did to yourself now!?" Sakura cried out as she helped out Kakashi while Sasuke chuckled, leaning back in the corner he had taken to "I just said to take it easy and here you go with your usual antics"

"And you!" Sakura said, now fixing a glare on Sasuke who promptly shut up "Go bring that tray of food back to the kitchen and wash it up"

"By the way" Kakashi interrupted as Sakura managed to prop him up again "Where's Natsumi?"

"Out in the city doing some information gathering" Sasuke replied as he picked up the tray "Why?"

"Zabuza is still alive" Kakashi stated with a smile, waiting as the information sunk into their heads

"WHAT!?"

* * *

"Have you heard the stories? Of a reaper in the forests that appears when it rains?"

"Wasn't that suppose to be from the other village?"

"But the weird weather..."

"Weird weather be damned! Those are just stories!"

"But one of Gato's men has been reported to be missing..."

"Once again shut up! You're going to get us in trouble if one of the guards hears that!"

'Ah gossip' Natsumi thought as she walked around, a henge of an old woman over her form. 'Easy info if you know what's truth and which are the lies'

Ah yes, reapers. Though the info about those weird stories being passed around might just be some weird rumour that goes around with Zabuza in her opinion. After hearing what he did to his graduating class, she wouldn't be surprised at all with this reaper stories

Suddenly two men rushed passed her, one carrying an oddly shaped but big bundle wrapped in bandages. From what she had gathered so far, those two would most likely be some of Gato's hired thugs. Wondering what the rush was about she ducked into an alleyway parallel to the main street and began following them, ditching the henge along the way.

It didn't take long for the people to thin out and soon she took to the roofs to avoid the number of thugs now popping up all the while also tracking her 2 targets. Luckily it didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination, a storehouse right across a lavish mansion that stood out among the derelict houses that surrounded it.

'Gato's most likely' Natsumi thought as she halted her pursuit a few roofs back 'Matches what I heard about him at least' she then took note of the guards and whatever she could notice before hightailing it out of there.

'Even though I should totally be busting in there right now' Natsumi thought annoyed though she knew better than to storm in guns blazing with no plan whatsoever. 'If I want to be a hero then do it right! At least that's what dad would say, mom though would just kick the door down and terrify everyone else into submission'

Now back at the more populated part of the city, she adopted the guise of a nondescript teenage girl and blended into the crowd but not before bumping into a person. Immediately she apologized and continued on without looking.

Had she looked at the cloaked stranger she might have noticed his unnaturally bony hands wrapped in bandages before he walked towards the direction she came from.

* * *

(A few days later)

A growing disaster in progress, that is the only way the tyrant tycoon Gato could describe what he was seeing.

It all started when one of his men went missing a few days back and was found the day after by his buddy who went out to look for him. He heard reports of a small smuggling sighted by the man's friend who went to investigate but found nothing much but a wreck of a boat.

His body was found near the boat which was now floating due to the tide, tied to keep the boat from drifting far like some macabre anchor of flesh. It terrified him a bit when he saw the recovered body, nothing but a dried up husk with a face permanently etched into a scream of terror. At first he thought it was the work of those pesky ninjas that were hired by the bridge builder but according to Zabuza that wasn't the M.O. of any known Konoha ninja that fought him.

Now here he was attending to another death, word was starting to spread across town and his main killer is currently a bedridden cripple. The silver lining here was that of the 2 that went missing, one was alive!

"The children! They sing! The last song will ever hear!"

Of course what could be said about his mind was another thing entirely.

"Get yourself together you sorry excuse for a hired hand!" Gato yelled, shaking the man who lay in the bed of their makeshift hospital within one of the many buildings he 'bought' around his mansion. "What happened!? Who did this!?"

All he received in return were incoherent babblings about children and nursery rhymes that sounded like a botched version of 'ring around the rosie'. Growling at the lack of response he wacked the man upside the head with his cane in anger, knocking him out, and telling the other thugs to deal with him if he no longer has any use.

"Gato-sama" a voice called out. Turning around the midget was confronted with his secretary who handed him some letters before heading back where she came.

Deciding it best to put his frustrations aside for the meantime and handle business instead, he headed back to his main office in his mansion and had his two other burly guards stand post outside the door. Pinching his nose in annoyance at all that was happening he dropped the letters on his desk and plopped down and reclined on his comfy leather chair. Reaching into one of his desk cabinets he pulled out a jar of sake and poured himself a saucer before reaching out and opening the first few letters.

"Trash, trash, trash, some 2-bit smuggler with a threat, dead in the morning" He realized most of these letters were just those peasants asking for money, with the occasional actual business deal mixed in between the weak death threats.

Slowly his anger started coming back thanks to the lack of trade for smuggled goods. He would have tossed his bottle in frustration against the wall had he not noticed the last letter which caught his eye. It was at the bottom of the pile which explained why he hadn't noticed it before but now it had his attention for one reason.

It was red.

Curiously he picked it up and examined it. A red envelope who uses something like this nowadays? A thought crossed his mind that he had caught the attention of a big time mafia group but the lack of any distinctive mark made him think twice, unless the envelope itself was the sign of the group. He also noticed that it was quite thick and decided to open it up.

Inside he found a small stack of photos, the first photo was that of a forest with what looked like a person standing just far enough that Gato couldn't make out his features.

'What the heck' Gato thought, previous thoughts of business flying out of his mind. 'Is this one of my men who died?'

Flipping to the next photo he now noticed that the person was standing a bit closer. Shuffling to the next few photos, he noticed that the scene remained the same except for one chilling thing.

With each photo the man, who he could now see wore a cloak, came closer and closer. He soon could make out more features, except the face which was always blurred out. A lantern by his side, some chains wrapped around him, black boots and a weird green glow.

He couldn't understand why he didn't stop, it was easy right? Just drop the photos, they didn't mean anything. Probably someone playing a prank on him, yeah that was it! But here he was, rooted to the spot as his hands moved without him willing them, his mouth open as he tried to scream but no sound came out. With horror now building up inside him he saw that the face was coming closer and it was staring right at him. By the second to last photo, he saw the most horrifying face as the blur disappeared. A skull stared back at him, a predatory smile on its face as if knowing what would come next. With slow agonizing movements his hand tossed away the photo and revealed the last picture.

This time it was all white, with the words 'close enough' written in red ink.

Suddenly two bony hands grasped at his face and then he found his body in his control once more and screamed as loud as he could. Immediately the two guards outside his door busted in, swords drawn.

"Boss what's wrong!?" He yelled as looked around frantically for a threat

"What do you mean what's wrong!?" Gato screamed at him "There's someone..." his response died out in his throat as he realized nothing was holding onto him. Looking around to confirm he was alone by his desk, he rubbed the slight sweat off his forehead and told his guards to get back to their posts. Giving him weird looks, they complied nonetheless and left the man alone once more in his study. Looking back at the desk his heart almost stopped as he saw a familiar stack of photos piled neatly in front of him. Picking it up, he noticed that the last photo he saw was now on top but underneath the words 'close enough' was a new addition he swore wasn't there before.

'Think on your sins'

Shuddering at the thought of the pictures, he tossed them back in the envelope before placing them in his drawer.

'Maybe those 2 know something' he thought suddenly thinking back on his 2 hired ninjas. 'This sounds like one of their illusion things from what I know'

Making a hasty decision he pressed the call button on his intercom on his desk and rang up his secretary.

"Yes, Gato-san what do you need" came the sickly sweet reply. Cursing slightly at the thought he was heard throughout the mansion when he screamed, he answered quickly with an irritated tone. "Tell Zabuza or his bitch companion to get here quickly"

"I've got something they need to check out"

* * *

**Anyways here we are with the actual chapter 1 part 1. Sorry for the late post, as I mentioned in the last chapter I would have posted earlier if my wifi in Hamilo resorts didn't conk out on me and whoop de do it did. So I just got back tonight and hooked myself up to my working wifi and got to posting this chapter. **

**Sorry for those who were expecting some action right off the bat but I'm trying to tie in a mix of both personalities as a being taught by death, remember also that lore states that thresh loves to play with a targeted victim's mind so hopefully I managed to convey that. Also you might have noticed that the chapter has a 'part 1 indicator', this is because originally this went on to be a lengthy 16 page chapter which was way over my limit and may cause proceeding chapters to appear too short. So I sliced this chapter into 2 while being careful not to slice in the middle of the action but at a part which can leave a sort of cliff hanger. **

**As one reviewer did notice, I am trying to steer this away from the instant OP pub stomp Naruto stories which have been popping up (that's not to say I don't read those) which dive into the action right away. So here you have a whole lot more psychological warfare before the fight with Thresh now beginning his reign of terror. **

**I'll be posting the next chapter (which is completed already so don't worry about delays, I don't have any other trips planned out next week) by Thursday so watch out. **


	3. Chapter 1 part 2 - An Angel with a Devil

**Chapter 1.2**

* * *

_"In the dark recesses of the mind, a disease known as fear feasts upon the souls of those who cannot overcome its power..."- Pat McHale_

* * *

"So I've got another job for you and your partner"

It was a few hours later that Gato once again found himself with a familiar stack of photos in hand as he stared out the window, surveying the scene outside like a king would to his kingdom. Turning around he was greeted by the sight of a patched up Zabuza and his effeminate companion Haku. Striding back to his desk and taking a seat in his comfy chair he addressed the both of them while tossing the wrapped stack of photos to Zabuza who caught them and began examining them.

"I thought you wanted the bridge builder gone?" Zabuza grunted in annoyance at this new delay. Staring at the photos presented to him he wondered what was going on.

"This one takes a bit more importance" Gato admitted, his brow scrunched up in thought "Being the ninjas that you are, I take it you've heard about what was happening to my men in the past few days?"

Still flipping through the photos, Zabuza answered "Yeah, thought it sounded like some masked vigilante to me so I didn't mind it much"

"Well I do!" Gato yelled, slamming his fists into the desk in frustration "He's taking out my best men, and making the rest doubt me! Me! I'm the guy in charge of this god forsaken place and this little thorn has poked my enough!"

Gato quieted down a bit as he collected himself then pointed at both of them and continued.

"I want BOTH of you, and I am stressing the both part again, to find and eliminate this so called Reaper! And I want it done as soon as possible with his head on a platter to be presented to me!"

"And what about the bridge builder?" Zabuza asked again his eyes examining the photo of the flaming skulled reaper. Gato had explained what had happened a few hours back before he asked them to take on this new mission and even he was starting to re-evaluate the threat this reaper had.

"Let us put that aside for the time being" Gato answered "Once you're done with this then you can continue the mission"

"And our payment?"

"Doubled if you can complete both missions"

A double in raise? Zabuza grinned at the thought, more money always meant better.

"Deal, me and Haku will find this reaper and show him some real terror" Zabuza then stood up, knowing the conversation had ended when the deal was sealed "Come on Haku we need to prepare a bit for this"

"Yes, Master Zabuza" Haku answered, speaking up for the first and only time since they entered. Together, the pair of missing-nins made their exit out the door and into the relatively empty hallway of Gato's mansion.

A few minutes passed them in silence as they now found themselves trekking back to their hidden base camp in the forest near the complex. Finally sensing no one else nearby Haku spoke up.

"Master Zabuza?"

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you worried about the reports given the past few days" Haku asked, his eyes showing his worry clearly "Only a monster could work like this and I'm sure..." he would have continued had he not noticed his master's pointed stare.

"A tool doesn't question what it's wielder does" Zabuza growled sternly before turning back to the path ahead "But I am a bit worried as well" he added. Noticing the questioning look he was being given he continued by pulling out the stack of photos given to him by the tycoon "I've checked these things, back to front, and aside from the freaky pictures, I can't find any illusion seal or trap that would do what Gato described"

"What does it mean then?" Haku asked not knowing why this would worry his master

"We're facing something not of this world"

* * *

(3 days later)

"Here I come!"

Dodging backwards, Sasuke immediately avoided what would have been a knockout punch. Flipping twice to gain some distance, he re-evaluated his teammate in front of him.

During the Academy Sakura had shown promise in the sea of knowledge. Her amazing memory and capacity to learn quick shot her grades far up but it came at a bit of a cost.

Her physical skills.

To any aspiring ninja this was a big dilemma, and Sakura herself knew it as well. For all the academic grades she could get, it would be pointless had she no power to make use of the knowledge. After one too many losses in the school spars, she decided to join the medical program of the legendary medic, Tsunade. She had been finally returned from her gambling life after the wife of the Hokage supposedly beat some sense into her. It was through the medical lessons that she took and training that she finally got a whole lot stronger, just in time for the graduation exams. Though still learning she really does pack a punch

"Oy! Be careful! Don't hurt my beautiful bridge!" Tazuna yelled out, reminding the 2 fighters where they were at again.

"Sorry Tazuna!" Sakura called out in apology, stopping herself before she could hit the place Sasuke had been standing on earlier.

"Sakura, Sasuke, take a breather you two" Kakashi called out. Turning around, the two genins were treated to the sight of a slightly ruffled Kakashi as he trailed a bit behind Natsumi who looked particularly gleeful.

"Sensei what happened to you?" Sakura asked as she instinctively pulled out a first aid kit

"Natsumi" he deadpanned, nodding to his 3rd student who grinned in reply "she's just one bag of hot air"

"Hey at least I managed to get the technique right, right?"

"Yes but turning me into the final target wasn't the plan" Kakashi groaned as he Sakura applied some light ointment.

"Sensei" Sasuke began, watching as Kakashi's lone eye turned to give him his full attention "Didn't you say that Zabuza should be up and about already"

The team quieted down when the reminder came up. Kakashi had explained to them the state of false death and the fake hunter-nin and also that Zabuza should have been fully healed 3 days ago. To know that your enemy was up and running was disconcerting but to not see hear nor tail of him as well was a bit stressful as well.

"Maybe he ran away after fighting us?" Natsumi suggested as she sat down beside Kakashi on the rails of the bridge. "I mean we did say that he is alive, but maybe he also retreated"

"It's not in his nature Natsumi" Kakashi explained "I've read about him in the Bingo Books and he doesn't back down from a job"

"So what do you think happened then?" Sasuke asked as he watched the work go about their duties building the bridge.

"Either he's building up a plan with Gato, which doesn't speak well for us" Kakashi hypothesized "He might have also had a break in the contract with Gato, but that doesn't sound like him as I mentioned. And the last possibility, though slim..." he trailed off as he adopted a thoughtful look

"the last possibility is?" Sakura repeated trying to get Kakashi to complete his thought

"That reaper that has been sighted around here might have gotten to him"

* * *

A loud clang echoed in the clearing as the steel came into contact with steel. Sparks flying in between the 3 figures as each lashed out, defended and tried to gain distance.

It was an ingenious plan really, that Zabuza and Haku cooked up. Keep watch over a few groups of thugs with water clones and take note who get separated. A clone would then alert the original immediately who would chase down the person being followed by another clone.

It was crude and many times it was a false alarm but finally now they hit the jackpot.

Too bad Zabuza was right about beings not of this world.

Ducking low to dodge the sickle which would have taken his head off his shoulder. He swung his sword in a wide arc and watched as his opponent backed up and then immediately dodged to the side to avoid a volley of ice needles that would have skewered him. In retaliation the reaper swung the chain around him and sent the sickle towards the tree Haku was in. Zabuza's eyes widened in disbelief as the blade and chain tore into the tree and sent it crashing down. Haku then appeared beside him, catching him as he leaned fell a bit, as he managed to escape the falling tree.

"Master Zabuza, can you still stand!?" Haku asked desperately. He noticed that the reaper had disappeared and immediately jumped back, pulling her master as well before the ground they had been standing exploded forward as the sickle which had been flying through the air ripped into the earth. The reaper then tugged the chain and the sickle immediately flew back to its owner.

Zabuza was panting heavily now, he had not expected the fight to last this long. It had been almost 3 hours ago since they started and the being in front of him looked no worse for wear while they were on their last legs. Slamming his sword down in front of him he could only glare at the reaper who only smiled back as if knowing he would win.

'And he might as well be on the way' Zabuza thought grimly. He looked at his sole companion and noted that he looked worse off 'We need to fall back'

"What are you?" Zabuza wheezed out, not taking his eyes off his enemy. Discreetly, his one hand hidden behind his giant cleaver, he made the signs for a clone and noted in the corner of his eyes as one appeared in the trees behind the reaper.

"Who am I?" the being rasped out in a chuckle, his voice throaty and cold with a slight echo that rang out through the forest "I am a being born from death, a reaper so to speak"

"But the question now should be, what are you going to do?" the reaper continued, his laughter mocking them as Haku dropped onto his knees, dropping Zabuza forward onto his own knees, as he felt his legs give out.

"I'm going to ask you another question"

"Ha!" The reaper laughed again, his sickly green burning skull contorting into a wicked grin "On your deathbed and you decide to ask me a question!?"

'Thats right you slippery bastard, keep talking' Zabuza thought as he watched his water clone began sneaking up

"I at least want to know the name of my killer, I can't just call you reaper right?"

The beings eyes gleamed in amusement before he smiled and answered "My name is Thresh, the Chain Warden. You can think of me as the son of the god of death"

Now this got his attention, a name and a claim to an actual god? Was this demon speaking truth or had his power gotten to his head?

"Then why all the theatrics? Why not just reap our souls like the father you claim to be related to?"

Haku added his two cents as he finally caught up to his master's plan and also asked "And what is your purpose with hunting down people?"

Thresh then walked forward, twirling his sickle and chain around him. "It's simple really, to answer your question Zabuza, it's because I like to savour my targets before killing them. To hear their screams of pain which won't do them any good but I tell you, it's music to my ears"

"That's twisted! You're mad!" Haku blurted out, which caused Thresh to stop in his approach and suddenly his body started shacking before full blown laughter echoed through the clearing.

"Me? Mad?" The reaper asked incredulously before his laughter died only to be replaced by a look of malice. Suddenly he was right in front of them, a maniacal grin etched onto his face as he raised his sickle.

"Quite likely..."

Suddenly before Zabuza's clone, which had finally gotten behind Thresh, could even think about raising its sword, A glowing lantern came flying out behind it and burst through it, immediately dispelling the clone, and was snatched up by the reaper whose smile only seemed to just get bigger.

The sickle gleamed in the light as time slowed down.

Zabuza's face turned into terror as he realized he never was once in control of this fight.

Death was in control.

Game Over.

A split second later and an anguished cry echoed out through forest before silence settled in.

"MASTER ZABUZA!"

Haku's felt nothing but disbelief. His master, the one who he thought to be unbeatable, was dead. He fell forward onto his hands as he felt wet tears well up in his eyes. Yet he could do nothing but watch as the reaper who called himself Thresh, pulled up to his master's body and began a rasping noise as if he was sucking something out of the air. He then watched in morbid fascination as the body of the famed demon began drying up, freezing the last horrified expression on his face for eternity. At the end a small green orb rose up from his chest which was grabbed by Thresh who seemed to examine it for a bit before popping it into his mouth.

"Hmmmm" he wondered out loud, not sparing a glance towards the second person "A smoky well-aged flavour"

"You killed him" Haku whispered as his mind began wrapping around the events

"Well, yes I did" Thresh deadpanned as he walked up and knelt down beside the young effeminate boy "That's generally what happens when a sharp pointy thing rips through your heart" he continued raising his bloody sickle to emphasize the point.

"Are you going to kill me too?"

"Look kid, let me ask you this one question. How many kills do you got?"

Haku looked up to regard the being kneeling down before admitting "None"

"Then you are not in causing an imbalance in the afterlife which means I don't have to kill you" Thresh stated in a jovial tone before standing up and started walking away.

"But what about my purpose? You killed my master! What more do I have live for!" he yelled, a look of anger crossing his face.

That statement stopped the reaper as he turned his head around and saw Haku struggling to stand up as he propped himself against the nearest tree. He sighed a bit, a look of deep thought crossed his face. Now that the battle adrenaline had finally washed over, his sanity was returning a bit and countless decisions flew through his mind.

"I'll give you a purpose" Thresh spoke up "But first, catch"

With a slight flick he tossed his lantern at him. Haku gasped as he quickly caught the glowing thing before slumping down again against the tree. Instead of pain as he expected he suddenly felt his wounds starting to close up slowly and his strength returning as well. Questioningly he looked at the death being who had given him life.

"Look I never answered your question during the fight did I?" Thresh admitted as he sat down beside Haku.

"My reason for hunting these people is because the afterlife is losing balance"

"Balance?"

"Think of life and the afterlife like water and a container" Thresh explained "Life is the water, the afterlife is the container. Pour too much into the container and it overflows since it can't hold all the water"

Suddenly Thresh stood up as he walked towards Zabuza's cooling body before stopping beside it.

"The Shinobi of this world constatly kill, kill, kill and kill without considering the repercussions. The life to death ratio in this world is now at 1 life to an averaged 57 deaths and now my father, the Death God, made me to correct this imbalance"

"How?" Haku questioned

"I just go where I hear death"

Feeling a tugging sensation, Haku let go of the lantern only to be surprised when he examined himself that he was healed up quite a bit. Still aching but nowhere in danger anymore.

"Ironic isn't it?" he heard, eyes snapping up towards the direction of Thresh's voice only to see him now walking away again "To save life, the world needs a few more deaths. Look kid, go be a doctor or something, save lives"

Thresh continued walking down deeper into the forest until he heard a few footsteps behind him.

"Then let me be the tool to attain your dream, from one master to another I go" Haku stated, before turning around and staring at his dead master a bit "I was master Zabuza's tool to achieve his dreams. He gave me my purpose but now he is gone and I have no direction to be pointed at."

"But I just killed the man who most likely was the closest thing you had to a father!?" Thresh exclaimed not believing what was going on

"He wasn't a father to me, he was my master, my wielder, my purpose." Haku countered "He says a weapon cares for it's master, it's only purpose is to fulfill the master's ideal"

"A Shinobi must not show attachment, for bonds are easily broken" Haku recited calmly "But be careful not to lose your own emotions lest you lose sight of your goal"

"So does that mean if I die, you would not shed tears for me but rather for yourself?" Thresh asked "What a twisted tool you have become, happy to care for its owner until they die and then you desperately seek the nearest hand to give you purpose once more"

"It was the only purpose I was raised for"

"And I just gave you a better purpose! find a life, live for what you could've been" Thresh stated exasperatedly turning around "Look my job is to kill those who kill too much like Gato or those missing-nin"

"And I can help!" He begged, a few tears welling up in his eyes "From one Master to another, give me a purpose! Just please don't leave me alone again"

_'You won't leave us again, right mister?'_

All was quiet before Thresh turned around and continued walking away. Haku was about to call again to try and convince him some more when he heard something that made him smile a bit.

"Do what you want"

And so he finally started walking forward.

* * *

**And here we go with the end of this chapter, the wave arc still continues but now without a few extra things. **

**I apologize for throwing this out a bit late but so you know, elections are finally heating up here in the Philippines so I've been busy helping one of my relatives in her campaign to become a chancellor for her district. That coupled with my friend pointing out that I kept referring to Haku as she or her, made me go over this chapter and make a few changes.**

**Also a friend of mine questioned my portrayal of Haku as it was essentially different from cannon. If you haven't noticed, duh this has gone way out the window. I tried to think of him like a scalpel, a common medical tool that was made to save lives. Haku is essentially like that, trained by Zabuza primarily as a medic, but this being said Zabuza isn't quite father of the year awards. Giving a kid full adult shinobi training with no easy introduction into the ways of a ninja is asking for a disaster in progress, hence the broken tool mindset. A scalpel cannot do its duty to save lives if there is no hand to use it, but even then the user can turn to killing with the same scalpel and it wouldn't complain. It will rust given enough time and then be essentially useless if not used. **

**Sorry for the long explanation but my friend suggested I add this part for once as some people might be confused. This is a plot point and the subject will come up again later but I can't explain any further without spoiling the story. One hint here is the title, who is the angel and who is the devil**

**Here's a teaser for those who might have noticed. Thresh absorbs the souls he can scavenge around him, the italicized quote at the end, the fact that he has children's souls sealed in his lamp. **

**Think on that.**

**Anyways hopefully so to give me a bit more leeway with my readers, I'll release the next chapter sometime next week so look out!. **


	4. Chapter 1 part 3 - Just Let Go

**Here we go with the next chapter!**

* * *

"_Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face."  
-Nelson DeMille_

* * *

"Master Thresh, I have some news"

It had been roughly 2 days since the demise and addition of Zabuza's soul to his repertoire and already he found quite a bit of use for the deceased swordsman. Opening his eyes he noticed the light slightly creeping through the cracks of the tree he had made a home out of which told him the morning was slowly coming. Coming out of the tree he turned around and found Zabuza leaning on the side of the tree, his ethereal green glow shining brightly.

"Gato is planning to amass his private army to strike at the bridge at noon when the workers will be taking their breaks" Zabuza informed him as the reaper walked towards him "news of my disappearance has gotten to him already and tensions are running high now. With all the stress getting to him and the belief someone is out to get him, he now believes that killing the bridge builder will stop all his problems"

"Has desperation really began to sink in so soon?" Thresh mused as he pulled out his lantern allowing Zabuza to turn back into a small sphere which was sucked back into the cage. From there the lantern replied "most likely, I think it would be best if we kill them all at the bridge. Makes things easier for all of us"

"As blood thirsty as always, Demon of the Mist" Thresh chuckled, buckling the soul holder to his belt, as he began moving out towards a meeting point he had assigned "The first plan on your mind is usually a slaughter"

"Hmmmph, who knew I could still find excitement while being eternally damned" Zabuza muttered before the lantern went silent.

As he continued walking he quickly put on his hood before turning the corner into the path towards the town. He continued walking past the near empty streets until a brown haired girl with long hair in a pink kimono and a basket of herbs atop her head joined him in his walk. Amongst the early risers and other denizens who were up, they were no more than another few faces in the steadily growing crowd.

"Master Thresh"

"Haku, is everything in place?" Thresh asked the effeminate boy

"Of course as you wished, but didn't you say that it would be used on a later date?"

"Change of plans, one of my spirits has reported back to me with critical information" Thresh explained "Gato's amassing his forces and as much as I prefer taking them out one at a time, he has become boring to me now that I have taken out most of his resources and methods"

Haku should have realized this sooner, being briefed on his new master's goals, he learned almost all the disappearances of Gato's higher ranked men were his doing. Of course with Zabuza now dead, he was also cut off from the hideout if he didn't want to blow his new cover.

Haku wasn't one to kid himself, he knew as well as Thresh that sometimes the best way to assassinate someone was with a lot of bloodshed. Zabuza may have been the master of the Silent Killing technique but even he had his own set of high profile kills.

As they walked along Thresh handed him a piece of paper before once again disappearing into the now thick crowds. Making his way to his position he set down his basket right across the local pub that he knew was a frequent scene visited by Gato's thugs.

Thresh had assigned him the task of gathering whatever info he could get his hands on and more importantly, healing civvies who need it and non-combatants caught in any crossfire (that he could save). Truly his new master was indeed interesting to serve, a being from the other side of life who came here to act as a balancer to the many deaths plaguing the world. To hear that the spirit world was nearly overflowing with souls wasn't really surprising. With all the wars the world had experienced in a short amount of time along with seeing the bloodline purges, it was no wonder the spirit world was taking in more than it could pump out. His master had left out a few a lot more details but that was the gist he could come up with from the reaper's explanation.

A loud crash distracted the young boy from his thoughts as a man came sailing out the doorway of the pub only to land in a heap right near him. The sword, dirty clothes and rugged face said all about who he worked for.

Now to make the same move he had been doing since yesterday.

"Oh dear," Haku cried out as he rushed towards the man "those wounds look serious, maybe you should come over to my place to heal up, I have a few remedies"

"Fuck off woman!" the thug spat out "I don't do those herbal bullshit"

"But really" Haku purred out in a sultry voice which got a blush out of the man. With his eyes focused on Haku's he never noticed the hand signs.

"I insist"

* * *

Kakashi knew something wrong was going to happen today. With the peaceful days permitted by Gato's distraction, it was only a matter of time before the tyrant remembered the bridge that was threatening his regime. And sure enough, just yesterday, his ever informed student Natsumi managed to hear about an attack plan the following day. With this in mind he had pushed the training for his students up but not too much so they would still have enough energy to push back the enemies successfully. The plan also took into account Zabuza and his mysterious assistant in the case that the reaper that was roaming about didn't get to them first.

"Sensei" A voice called out from his left. Turning an eye he carefully regarded his only male student "I sure hope you have a plan" Sasuke continued, eyeing his enemies carefully like a hawk as he fingered the rings on the two Windmill Shurikens he had folded to act like swords.

"We can take them easily enough, they don't have access to awesome ninjutsu like we do" boasted the blonde Natsumi as she pulled out her two fans, a small wind beginning to pick up around her.

"But they have the numerical advantage" Sakura pointed out as she tightened her black fingerless gloves. Her large white coat somehow still not flying off her in the small wind even though her arms were not in their sleeves "So don't get too cocky"

"Maa, maa, don't worry too much" Kakashi replied giving them a thumbs up and his own signature smile via his single eye. "Your sensei will protect you"

"But who'll protect you from all of us!?" A loud cry rang out forcing the group to focus ahead.

While Natsumi had found out about the when part of the attack, she had been unable to find out exactly what time it would happen (nonetheless they were prepared), and more importantly, how many enemies were they considering. And now here they were, at the bridge near midday facing down what looks like hundreds of armed thugs while protecting their client who stood in the behind their formation. Heading the mini-army was the tyrant himself, Gato the Shipping Mogul, who despite the stressed look on his face looked happy enough like a kid being given an early Christmas present. Tazuna was absent from the spectacle as they had given him orders to bunker down and hide at his place under guard from one of Natsumi's clones.

"We've got the numbers to tear down this bridge once I'm through with you!" Gato yelled out. Inwardly he was actually surprised when all of his remaining men had gathered at the dock area. He was sure he asked only for a slightly lesser group but if everyone else wanted in on the fight then who was he to turn them down? The more they had to fight, the easier it is for them to fall.

"But leave that blonde girl!" He added as he pointed his walking cane at the group "Konoha will pay a lot to get her back and that means a whole lot more money for all of you! Now bring me their heads on a fuckin' silver platter!"

With a loud roar the hounds were unleashed and a wave of sheer testosterone barrelled towards the Konoha shinobi. In retaliation Kakashi formed 2 clones of himself while Natsumi formed 4 to give them an extra hand. In just a few moments the first wave of thugs found themselves being slammed into each other and tossed off the sides of the bridge as a massive water dragon blew right through them.

A black blur shot past them and a few men crumpled to the ground as they soon found themselves missing their legs. Sasuke ducked under one man's wild swing and kicked low knocking the breath from the man before swinging around his neck and using him as a shield for the hammer that swung past where he used to be. Dropping the unconscious man, he eyed the hammer wielding titan before him who smirked as if thinking his size really meant anything. Unfurling one of his Demon Windmill he hurled it at the man who leapt aside and let the spinning blade cut into the men behind him. Momentarily distracted by his comrades' cries of pain, he forgot about the deadly ninja behind him and soon knew no more as his head was separated from his body courtesy of one Demon Windmill Blade.

"You bastard!" one thug cried out as he watched the taller man fall dead "I'll fuckin' kill ya!"

Sasuke paused for a moment before dodging the other men who cried in vengeance for their fallen comrade. Quickly pushing the thought of his first kill back for a later time, he immediately engaged his enemies again.

On the another side a group of thugs found themselves clinging on for dear life as hurricane like winds whipped around the blonde girl they were tasked with subduing. It almost seemed like a serene dance as the girl danced with gentle geisha like movements, the wind following her command as she twisted and twirled, moving her own two fans in rhythm.

"What the hell is this boss!?" One thug yelled out, the wind almost drowning out his voice "She ain't human! No human 'an do this kind'a shit!"

"No" a gentle yet commanding voice rang across the wind

"Only we shinobi can"

And with one great heave, Natsumi brought both fans down in a wave, causing all the wind whirling around her group to pick up and toss them all around. The young girl examined her handiwork before a large cheshire grin broke through her calm facade.

"Oh yeah, never mess with a hero!" she cried out, jumping in joy "I'm just too darn awesome!"

The other thugs were too busy picking their jaws off the ground after that display of power until Gato's voice telling them to stop gawking and start fighting broke their reverie.

"Yo man, I never signed up for this kind of thing!" One thug voiced out before turning around and running away. He would have made it too had a gloved fist not smashed right into his face knocking him out cold.

"Ara, ara" the lone medic murmured as she observed the chaos around her teammate "leave some for me Natsumi!"

"Oy Sakura, go find your own thug army!" Natsumi whined before squeaking in surprise as Sakura's fist shot right past, inches away from her face. Hearing the sound of breaking bones and a cry of pain, she turned around to find one thug on the ground moaning before slumping unconscious.

"Pay attention to your surroundings!" she said before the two ninjas adopted a back to back stance. Eyeing the thugs they realized they were surrounded in such a short time though instead of cowering in fear like the men expected, the two girls smirked at each other.

"Most takedowns buys dinner" Natsumi challenged bringing up her two fans, a small wind beginning to pick up.

"Ha, easy for me then!" Sakura replied as she tightened her gloves before reaching into her coat and drawing two vials, both with rainbow like liquid, before chucking them at the enemy. One dumb guy thought nothing of the liquid before smashing both vials with a swipe from his sword. His smile, along with a few others, was promptly blown away literally as a massive explosion met them. That sound was the start for both of them as they immediately dived into combat. Natsumi giving them nasty cuts and blowing others away with her wind and Sakura punching with super-human strength causing one poor sap to turn into a makeshift missile as he crashed into the others coming up behind him.

Soon though one managed to run up behind the pink haired medic and he yelled a furious battle cry as he brought down his katana on her unguarded back. What he didn't expect was a clang of metal and two metallic fists to suddenly shoot out and occupy the dangling sleeves of her lab coat.

"Oy, oy!" Sakura said as she turned around looking more frustrated than surprised "Didn't you hear me say that a shinobi's always pays attention to her surroundings?" The thug gulped as the girl cocked her fist back causing the larger metal ones to mimic her movements. A punch later and he found himself eating concrete and blacking out.

"Good thing you always have my back, right Haruka*?" Sakura called out as a spherical puppet head with two glowing red eyes popped out behind her own and occupied the collar of the lab coat.

"Ara, like those dumb weak peasants could touch us" the puppet replied in a haughty tone.

As more thugs came barrelling in the Medic and her guardian puppet in a lab coat readied themselves for the long battle ahead of them. As they rushed forward to meet the mercenaries, they noticed out of the corner of their eye that even Kakashi had joined up with Sasuke and together they were taking down enemies left and right.

"Looks like we got this" she thought as she delivered a roundhouse kick, knocking away a few guys who came in too close and tossing a few more explosive vials at the remaining brutes "The question now is when will Gato give up"

* * *

Ah how fun it is to watch those poor pathetic fools even think they have a chance at beating 4 shinobi with their numbers alone. Had Zabuza fought them then maybe he may have been able to weaken them a bit but as it stands, they foolishly fought without weakening them. Eyeing the fight from the very end of the unfinished bridge, obscured by the slight fog, as he sat on some crates he thought about how easier it was for him to have the two of them wipe each other out. Yet his subconscious screamed out to him to slaughter them all himself.

Clenching his hands he reigned in his insanity before he could jump in feast on the souls popping out here and there from those poor men who succumbed to their wounds. A slight breeze blew past him before he tilted his head slightly, acknowledging the presence of his new tool.

"That was everyone Master Thresh" Haku said, the effeminate boy smiling at the thought of pleasing his master "Everyone got a message that those who would fight today would get a pay raise"

"Ha!" Thresh laughed out, the raspy voice sending chills down Haku's spine "How predictable, dangle a carrot in front of an ass and off he goes trying to get a bite"

"So what shall we do now Master? Gato looks like he's about to make a run for it"

"Oh?" Thresh chuckled as he turned his stare towards the short stubby man with a cane, standing behind what was left of his so called 'army'. Indeed with the panicked look on his face as the Konoha shinobi came ever closer he did look like he was ready to cut his losses. "Ah but we can't have that can we? He caused the many deaths in a short amount of time with his regime and Death says it's time for him to pay back with interest"

Seeing it was the best moment, he signalled Haku to fall back and leave the rest to him. As the cross-dressing boy disappeared in a flurry of snow crystals, Thresh stood up and began walking towards the tyrant who was blissfully unaware of the reaper walking up behind him. As a maniacal grin began spreading itself over Thresh's face, he flipped open his lantern.

And let the children sing.

* * *

"No! you can't win!" Gato yelled out as the few mercenaries he had formed a half circle to shield him from the ninja closing in. Yet even they were shaking in terror after seeing them fight and easily defeat the others despite their superior numbers.

"Oh yes we can!" Natsumi replied, a grin etched on her face, looking none the worse for wear "A hero always defeats the villain"

"Face it Gato, you lost" Kakashi said as he held his kunai at the ready, just in case the midget had any other ideas up his sleeve "Now you can either leave here alive or in a body bag"

"Bah! Fuck you!" Gato spat out "Come on boys its time..."

Suddenly a chill passed through the man, stopping him mid sentence, as he heard the sound of children laughing. The others paused as well as the sound got closer. Suddenly out of the light fog at the end of a bridge came a few children skipping along with no care. What caused Kakashi's eyes to narrow were the fact that you could see right through them and they were slightly glowing green.

Gato's mind suddenly remembered the words of one of his own thugs. _"__The children! They sing! The last song will ever hear!"_

Everyone suddenly found themselves unable to move, and as they came closer they heard the unmistakable sound of music as the children began to chant in what sounded like a morbid nursery rhyme, twisted and disturbing.

_Cling clang go the chains,_

_Someone's out to find you._

_Cling clang oh the chains,_

_The Warden's right behind you._

By now the spirits had encircled them and were now slowly closing in. To the shinobi's surprise they were ignored as the circle ran around only Gato and his remaining goons. Looking at Gato and his men they could see them paling with terror and it only took a moment for Kakashi to connect the dots.

_Quick now, the seeking chains,_

_Approach with their shrill scrape._

_Don't stop, flee the chains,_

_Your last chance to escape._

The men were struggling to move but an invisible force kept them stuck where they were standing. With a pounding heart Gato felt terror like never before. A panic which seeps into your very bones.

_Drag the chains, drag the chains,_

_With all the strength you may!_

_Drag the chains, drag the chains,_

_'ere they drag you away!_

While the song continued Kakashi and his students were also trying their hardest to move. With the song slowing down they could just see the finale coming.

"What the hell's holding us!? " Natsumi desperately yelled, two clones beside her trying to pull her out "It's like chains are all over my feet and legs!"

Kakashi blinked at the idea and formed a ram seal to dispel illusions and immediately a large crisscrossing network of chains revealed themselves as holding their legs in place. When this happened Gato's thugs began swinging at them trying to cut the chain while the man himself tried to pry himself out with his cane. As if in amusement the children closing in only smiled as they started the last few lines Gato would ever hear.

_Cling clang go the chains,_

_There's no more time for fear!_

By now the man was on his knees begging them to let him go, that he'd pay any price to live again but his wishes were drowned out by the sounds of the chain links suddenly clinking together in rhythm.

_Cling clang go the chains,_

_The last sound that you'll..._

_"... hear..." _

Gato gasped as he felt a sharp object go through him. Looking down he was horrified to see his own heart sticking out of his chest, impaled on a sickle. The last thing he saw before he drew his final breath was the face and words of the reaper who had finally caught up to him.

"You're falling apart... What to do with the pieces?"

* * *

**Now here's the latest chapter of the series! I'd like to apologize for the delay in getting this out since my Zamboanga is being plagued by 8 hour a day black outs and the computer is also being used by members of my grandmothers election team. This leaves very little time for me to work each day but hopefully I manage to end this all in the next chapter with the confrontation between Thresh and Team Seven before I have to take the family trip to bloody Russia.**

**I've also been trying to keep this faithful to the game so points to those who can recognize his in game moves (I've used two already in the last chapter) as well as parts of his lore and quotes.**

**Also I have a beta reader now, hands up for Apocalyptian Scribe who volunteered to help Beta this thing. Expect the beta read versions to come up soon as well when I get the time. **

***Haruka's puppet originally had no name in Shinovi Versus and therefore I decided to use her name for the puppet instead in Sakura's case. Yeah I am a Senran Kagura fan. Points for those who can find out which character I based Sasuke's fighting stlye on. **

**I've also been meaning to try out another Naruto x LoL story with another hero instead and right now Rengar, Sona and Lissandra all seem to be occupying my mind (and game). If I use either Lissandra or Sona then expect a Naruko story.**

Read and Review!

**-Al Azif the Necronomicon **


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